Slaughter and May publishes latest Responsible Business Report

Slaughter and May launches its 2023 responsible business report. The report provides a high-level update of the firm’s progress towards its responsible business commitments and spotlights activity that has take place over the past year to positively impact people, the planet, and the prosperity of wider society.

Highlights from the past year include:

• Becoming the first major law firm in the UK to set social mobility targets
• Coaching 79% of people across the firm to speak up about non-inclusive behaviours through a firmwide diversity and inclusion programme, Everyday Inclusion
• Progressing near and long-term net zero targets, including a reduction in emissions by 33% compared to a 2018 baseline year
• Delivering 50 training sessions to lawyers internally and 45 training sessions to clients relating to climate change and ESG
• Winning Pro Bono Initiative of the Year at the Lawyer Awards 2023 for a collaboration with 8 other law firms on the Domestic Abuse Response Alliance
• Enabling 92 individuals to improve their skills and 317 individuals to increase their educational attainment and outcomes through schools outreach work
• Celebrating ten years of supporting local entrepreneurs through the Firm Futures programme

Deborah Finkler, Slaughter and May Managing Partner said, “Our objectives in this space are fundamental drivers of our business planning, ensuring the firm benefits from a rich and diverse set of perspectives, and can contribute to the health of the planet and of society. In a world of increased uncertainty and complexity, businesses have a clear role in facilitating the systemic change that our stakeholders want to see. Slaughter and May is proud to play its part.”

Uzma Hamid-Dizier, Director of Responsible Business added, “A key highlight for me this year was becoming the first major law firm to set social mobility targets in the UK to increase the number of individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds joining and staying at our firm. As a business, our people are our biggest asset and having access to the best available talent, from a diverse range of backgrounds, is critical to the firm’s sustained success. These targets build on the work we have been doing over the last decade to upskill, inspire and equip young people from these backgrounds to pursue a career in law and to think of us as their first employer.”

The full report is available here.